


Arrangements

by i_amthecosmos



Category: Descendants (Disney Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Arranged Marriage, F/M, Unrequited Love, descendants rewrite 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-03
Updated: 2020-10-03
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:47:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,800
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26797579
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/i_amthecosmos/pseuds/i_amthecosmos
Summary: To help open up the Isle, Ben and Evie have to get married. She is a princess, after all.
Relationships: Evie/Ben, Mal/Ben
Comments: 9
Kudos: 23
Collections: Descendants Rewrite Fictober 2020





	Arrangements

Ben knew he’d have to marry for political reasons. But he wasn’t expecting it so fast, or the person it turned out to be.

It had been his dream to start to open up the Isle. He was successful in getting a few students over. Then thanks to his parents, negotiations started with the Evil Queen, and then he met Evie. 

Their first meeting, she walked towards him in a kind of mincing gate. He recognized it-it was how princesses used to walk decades ago. It was out of fashion now. But she was beautiful, much more so than her picture. She curtsied and smiled sweetly. 

“Princess Evie,” she said. He smiled back at her. She had a natural charm. 

“Prince Ben. I’ll be King by next week. You’ll be next to me, of course.” 

“I will,” she said, still smiling. There wasn’t much warmth behind it. But at the same time, she was wanting to make a good impression. “My friends will be as well.” 

That part made him nervous, but he said nothing. Evie’s friends were in Auradon to go to school, but they were also trouble. Well Mal was, and the rest followed her lead. Mal had a biting tongue and seemed to be a bad influence on Evie. That was how it looked to him. 

Evie wasn’t what he expected from an Isle girl. She was sweet acting, had manners. Her mother had raised her in the same things Auradon princesses were raised in. The only problem was, she wasn’t ready to be a head of state. The Evil Queen had missed the memo that queens were full partners with their kings now. He formal schooling was wanting, to say the least. 

So the first time Ben sat Evie down in his office with some official papers to look over, she balked.

“I don’t have to be smart, my mother raised me to be a good wife. Not deal with this.” 

“Well, I think you can do both,” Ben said. “I know you don’t like to hear this, but you’re very smart. We’ve got to get married, and I need your input on how to best help the Isle. So this is good for both of us. Okay?” 

“All right,” she said in that sweet fake voice that often hid anger. Ben ignored it, and showed her some proposed rules. They stayed up most of the night. 

Their wedding took place not long after Ben was made King. They had decided to marry in haste, to help open up the Isle sooner. They were however, discouraged from being physical, since they both had to finish school. 

So, they had separate suites in Beast Castle. Evie seemed pleased with it, and turned one of the rooms into a sewing room, making her own gowns, and some for Mal as well. One day she came into his office, and handed him a box. 

“What’s this?” He opened it. 

“I made you a tie. I don’t have your measurements yet, so that’s all I’ve made for you so far.” Then she gave him a scrunched up smile, much different than her usual perfect one. “I hope you like it.” 

He looked at it. It was in his colors, blue and gold. He looked at it closely, taking in the details. “It’s beautiful, thank you.” She beamed. Evie always wanted to please, even though underneath it she had a steel core. 

Not long after that, Mal came to visit. She didn’t curtsy, instead striding up and shaking his hand. “Sorry, I’m okay with royalty, but I can’t bring myself to bow.” Ben smiled. 

“I don’t mind. I never see you without your friends, what’s going on?” 

“I just wanted to say, thanks for telling Evie she doesn’t have to be dumb to keep a King.” Ben’s mouth dropped open as she continued. “I’ve been telling her she’s smart since we became friends. I hate that her mom fills her brain with all of that. Speaking of, you haven’t let her move in, have you?” 

“No.” Evie had begged him not too, tears in her eyes, and it alarmed Ben so much he made sure that the Evil Queen would be settled and happy somewhere very far from Evie. “It was hard to convince her mother, but she agreed to only visit occasionally.” 

Mal smiled at him then, and he felt a little flutter. Why? Mal wasn’t Evie, who he was _married_ to, so that confused him. But right then, talking to him plainly but not rudely, she seemed very nice. “Okay,” she finally said after a long pause. “I’m going to see Evie now. She’s got a new shirt for me.” 

“Good to see you Mal,” Ben said, and she smiled again before charging up the stairs. 

Ben retreated to his rooms. Was he interested in Evie’s best friend? What was going on? 

…

It was late at night, and they were in Ben’s office. Evie had him pinned against the wall, her mouth on his. He’d never been kissed like this, with passion. Her body was right against his. “Wait,” he said. “We’re supposed to-”

“I’m supposed to not get pregnant,” Evie said in a low purr. “There’s nothing stopping us from having some fun.” Then she dropped to her knees. Ben gave up protesting then, and let her do what she wanted. When it was over, she got up, eyes shining and a wicked smile on her face. 

“What can I do for you?” Ben might be innocent but he was a gentlemen. But Evie shook her head. “Why not?” 

“Later. I’ll show you what to do.” She ruffled his hair, and left him alone with his pants down. Ben waited, stunned, until he could pull himself together and go to his room. He had trouble sleeping, wishing she was in his huge bed. 

After that, he let Evie teach him a few things, although they still avoided penetrative sex. It was intoxicating, fun, that they had this, especially since he’d never done it with anyone else. 

(“You never ask me about who I dated on the Isle,” Evie once said when they were in bed. Ben shrugged. He figured it was none of his business.) 

It was also pushing him closer to Evie. He knew it, he knew she probably meant for it to happen, but he couldn’t stop it. To make things even more confusing, he was still attracted to Mal, and he was sure she knew it. It was a good thing he was busy being king, otherwise he’d be entirely over his head. 

One night, Mal came into his office. “Hi,” she said, grinning this crooked grin that actually made her look vulnerable. “Evie made me a new pair of leather pants in my color.” She showed them to him. 

“Um, that’s nice,” he said. Being alone with Mal made him nervous now. “I think it’s great how she makes all of you clothes.” 

“That was her job on the Isle,” Mal said. “Seamstress. She made our clothes, she sewed the rags we used for menstrual pads, and sometimes, she sewed us back together if we got hurt. She’s very talented.” 

Ben sat there, is mouth open. He knew things were bad, but Evie spared him a lot of details. Mal cared about no such niceties. Mal was staring at him, very serious now. “She’s my sister, or might as well be. I’m fine with you two being married. I think it’s good for her.” Mal came closer, until she was standing right in front of Ben.

Ben swallowed, trying to get control of himself. “Um, Mal, I have a lot to do right now and...” he stopped. Mal was staring at his crotch. “Shit,” Ben said. He was hard, just from her standing so close.

Mal’s eyebrows went up, and she giggled. “Sorry,” she said. “It’s just funny when Auradon kids lose it and curse. I’m not laughing at you, for that,.” She became more serious. “Things are complicated here. Back on the Isle, we could work something out. But Evie needs to be a queen, and you can’t fool around with the subjects, can you?”

“I can’t ruin this deal, no,” Ben said, and he stood up. “And I like Evie.” 

“Good. She likes you.” Mal moved away. “I’ll try to stay away from you, if that’s what you want.” Mal looked at him for a long minute, and then left. 

Ben looked at his unfinished work, decided there was no way it was going to get done, and just went to bed. 

Ben didn’t know what to do. His parents didn’t give him any pointers for things like this. He didn’t have any friends he could talk about this with. His Auradon friends would be scandalized, and he wasn’t that close to the Isle kids. 

So he went to Evie. 

She was in her room, doing some decorative stitching on a dress. “Hey,” he said. She stopped, and smiled at him. “I need to talk.” 

“Is this about Mal?” Ben’s mouth fell open. “She told me. She was trying to get a reaction out of you, just to make sure she wasn’t wrong.” 

“It worked,” Ben said. “Evie, I’m so sorry.” 

Evie held a hand up, sitting there poised and beautiful in front of her sewing machine. “You haven’t done anything wrong. She tempted you and you told her you couldn’t. And I’m glad you told me.” Evie stood up then, smiled, and held out her arms.

Ben nearly ran to her, squeezing her hard. “I love you,” he said, and Evie held him tighter. “I do, I’m so glad we had to get married. I love you.” 

“I love you too,” she said in a sweet trill. Then she took his hand and led him back to her bed. 

The next few weeks went by in a blur. Ben was so happy. He went through school and being king and didn’t complain about any of it. He spent about the same amount of time with Evie as he did before, but it meant a lot to him. He was the happiest he’d ever been. 

Then he went to Evie’s set of rooms, about to knock, when he heard Mal talking. “I’m really glad how this has worked out for you. He really loves you, huh?” 

“Yes,” Evie said. “He’s been so sweet.” Ben was about to go then, stop listening in. But Mal spoke again. 

“You know, I could’ve made a love spell for you. You didn’t have to go to all this trouble.” 

What Evie said next would haunt Ben for the rest of his life. He would hear it in his mind for years, a lesson against eavesdropping. 

Evie laughed. “Oh Mal,” she said. “Where’s the fun in that?”


End file.
